1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packaging cushions and, more specifically, to air packaging cushions to protect and support a corner of an object.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, objects of all kinds are shipped through numerous shipping services, such as the United States Postal Service, United Parcel Service (UPS), and Federal Express. Literally billions of dollars in merchandise are shipped each year.
During shipment, many objects are subject to vibration, static electricity, shaking and bumping, and may also be dropped or thrown, either intentionally or unintentionally. Without proper packaging, many of the objects may be damaged or destroyed, resulting in significant losses, consumer dissatisfaction, and inconvenience. In addition, when shipped objects are damaged, costly disputes can often arise between the receiving party, the sending party, and/or the shipping party. Properly protecting an object during shipment is critical to numerous businesses.
Conventional packaging incorporates a variety of materials to protect and insulate an object within a shipping box. One of these materials is xe2x80x9cbubble-pack.xe2x80x9d Bubble-pack consists of two layers of thin plastic material, such as polyethylene or vinyl formed with periodic bubbles between the layers.
Bubble-pack is bulky because it is produced in an inflated state and therefore expensive to ship and store. Furthermore, conventional bubble-pack provides limited protection in certain applications because of the fixed bubble diameter, height, and count in a given material area.
Another conventional packaging material employs preformed solid foam blocks made of, for example, polyurethane or polystyrene. These blocks limit the movement of the packaged object during travel. Unfortunately, they are bulky and expensive to ship and store. As these blocks are often shaped to conform to specific product, it is unlikely that they may be reused to ship other, even similar, products. Foam blocks are of fixed dimensions and, as a consequence, cannot be modified to suit a different product. Moreover, the blocks are often fragile and may be easily broken or fragmented during storage or usage, preventing reuse. Thus, foam blocks are often discarded after one use. In addition, the materials from which the blocks are made do not degrade rapidly and thus are not environmentally friendly.
Furthermore, when using conventional packaging, significant concerns arise in relation to the protection of narrow objects, such as picture frames or circuit boards (e.g., motherboards). Because they are narrow, many such objects are often inherently fragile. During shipment, the corners of such objects may receive the majority of any potentially damaging forces. As a consequence, it is critical to provide adequate protection to the corners of these objects. This protection must insulate a corner of an object from forces imposed from any direction (e.g., the top, bottom, or either side of the corner).
It would, therefore, be an advancement in the art to provide a packaging cushion for protecting the corners of a narrow object. It would further be an advancement in the art to provide such a packaging cushion that is durable, versatile, and reusable.
The present invention provides a reusable, inflatable corner cushion for protecting the corner of an object during shipment. The inflatable corner cushion may have two inflatable chambers. The inflatable chambers may, in one configuration, be triangular in shape. The chambers may be airtight such that they may contain a filler medium (e.g., air or foam).
In one implementation, each chamber may be formed from two gas-impervious composite laminate panels. The panels may be triangular and may be joined together by a heat seal along peripheral edges thereof.
In one embodiment, each chamber has two adjacent edges meeting to form a V-shape. A seal may join the V-shaped edges of each chamber such that, when each of the chambers is at least partially inflated with the filler medium, a combination of the chambers forms a pocket for enclosing a corner of an object. In such a condition, the chambers are positioned such the transverse axis of each chamber meets to form an acute angle, similar to an open-mouthed clam.
The pocket is well suited to protect a corner of a narrow object, such as picture frames or circuit boards. An inflatable corner cushion may be placed on each corner of the object being shipped. The cushions and the object may then be placed in a shipping box. In such a state, the pocket encloses the corner of the object such that it is insulated from impacts from any direction. Also, because of the fluid nature of the filler medium, the inflatable corner cushion rapidly redistributes and diffuses potentially damaging impacts. As an added benefit, in the course of properly protecting the corners of the shipped object, the object may thus be suspended, providing a buffer around the remainder of the object.
In one configuration, at least one of the chambers further comprises a conjoined segment. The conjoined segment is a union between opposing sides of a chamber and limits the size of the chamber when containing the filler medium. In one embodiment, the conjoined segment xe2x80x9cflattensxe2x80x9d the top edge of the inflatable corner cushion such that it better conforms to the shape of the shipping box.
The inflatable corner cushion may also have a transfer channel for communicating filler medium between the chambers. The transfer channel may include mating holes formed in each chamber, where the area surrounding each hole is sealed together. In an alternative embodiment, the channel simply may be a tube joining the two chambers. The transfer channel serves a number of purposes. For example, it enables an impact received at one chamber to be diffused and redistributed between both chambers, not just the chamber receiving the impact. The transfer channel further allows inflation and deflation of both chambers from a single entry point.
The inflatable corner cushion may also have a valve for selectively communicating the filler medium into and out of one of the chambers. The valve may be a self-closing and self-sealing flat valve, which may be formed from two, small plastic strips sealed together along the longitudinal peripheral edges, to form an air passageway. The passageway is coated with an adhesive that permits selective inflation and deflation of the chamber. In one embodiment, because of the transfer channel, a single valve may be used to inflate and deflate both chambers.
The inflatable corner cushion offers a number of advantages over other conventional corner packaging. The inflatable corner cushion may, for example, be shipped and stored in a deflated condition, thereby reducing the expense of shipment and storage. Because of the fluid nature of a filler medium contained within inflatable corner cushion, it rapidly absorbs and redistributes forces acting on the cushion, thereby protecting delicate items during shipment. When air is used as a filler medium, the vast majority of the volume of the inflatable corner cushion is a natural product, which does not threaten the environment. In addition, the inflatable corner cushion is durable, yet flexible, and thus can be reused many times to protect the same or similar items during shipment. In many cases, the materials used to make the inflatable corner cushion are less costly to recycle than the materials used to make conventional pre-formed foam blocks.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.